from the Financial Times(Oct.17)
Tho Algerian Army attacked tho fortress of the Sahara town cf Tindouf, which is claimed by Morocco, and killed 130 of the tribesmen occupying it, because they refused to haul down the Moroccan flag, according to the Maghreb Arabe Presse, the semi-official Moroccan agency, Although the fighting is said to have taken place on October 2, the agency scems to have kept tne news to coincide with the visit to the Algerian Mission in Rabat of lfr, liohammed Khider, Secretary-General of the Algerian Political Bureau.
It says that the situation at Tindouf is "serious" and communications with Morocco have been cut. The pro-Government weekly, ii Istiqlal, called for a settlement of the Moroccan claim with the Algerian Goversment without delay. One of the world's biggest iron ore deposits is at stake. At Gar Djcbilet, near Tindouf, are estimated to lie 650 million tons of ore with a 57 per cent content, The chances of oil and natural gas are also believed to be promising; at any rate the French Safrep concern and a subsidiary of B.P, have been given concessions to prospect by France, on the assumption that Tindouf was in French Sahara, which has now been cedelto Algeria.
King Hassan of Morocco has been pursing his claim by getting the locai Reguibat tribe to proclaim , with suitable publicity, that they recognise his sovereignty. It is difficult to confirm the story current in Rabat that they have been bribed to do so. The official Moroccan line is that lr. Ferhat Abbas, recognised Morocco's Saharan claims when he was head of the Algerian Provisional Government in exile, and that, given a bit of time, his successors can be relied upon to act accordingly. Now the uncompromising action taken by the Algerian forces makes it seem that time is not on Morocco's side, INTERNATIONALIST SOCIALIST REVIEW, AUTUMN 1962 AVAILABLE: We have received bulk supplies of this journal. Costing 2/6, post 4d extra, it contains a number of very interesting articles; "Can Wall St. Afford Peace?" by Art Pries, "In Defence of Dialectecs" by Arne Swabeck, 'Venezuela Today" by L. David,"Gerhart Hauptmann" by Trent Hutter,"\frica, Truth and the Right to Travel" by William Worthy (the Negro journalist sentenced recently for going to Cuba without a passport) and a number of book reviews, and a review of various American periodicals, As well getting a copy themselves all readers of the Bulletin should make every effort to sell a number to their political contacts. It compares very well with any similar journal appearing in Britain today and will sell well,